


Follow You

by valenlimes



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Restaurant, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Huang Ren Jun-centric, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Renjun is just trying to get through university, Repaying Debt, Stalking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-17
Updated: 2018-10-17
Packaged: 2019-08-03 11:43:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16325564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/valenlimes/pseuds/valenlimes
Summary: Renjun is having a stalker problem





	Follow You

**Author's Note:**

> ok so here is the norenmin fic i promised. i lowkey kind of hate this but i said i would write this like a month ago and it is finally here.   
> hope you enjoy!

Part-time jobs low-key sucked. Renjun should know – he had three of them.   
Being a broke college student was probably one of the most eye-opening experiences of his young life.  
Breezing through high school with the support of his parents and the luxury of not having to do his own laundry, Renjun hadn’t realised how dependent he was on their help to complete even the most mundane of tasks. Now, after moving away from China for university, Renjun had to teach himself the best way to utilise his money in order to have enough for the student debt and the dorm rent and food and all the other expenses a 19-year-old male would need.   
Bulk buying had become his best friend and he would often steal the nearly empty shampoo containers from his best friend/roommate Donghyuck out of the bathroom trash cans when his had run out. 

He worked every day of the week except Tuesdays (his sacred day), mornings or nights depending on the job.   
Tonight, was the more favourable out of his three jobs – a waiter at the local Italian restaurant. The pay was decent and he could often persuade the chef to sneak him a piece of garlic bread or two for his dinner.  
It was around 7 in the even when the dinner rush set in, mostly younger couples and families.   
Some small child had spilt their spaghetti on the floor and Renjun, being the youngest worker, was automatically tasked with cleaning it up. Sighing, he set up his wet floor signs and got down on his knees to scrub. 

Five minutes in and he had managed to get the worst of the sauce stains from the tiles.   
A loud yelp and a crash sounded from behind him.   
Whipping around, Renjun observed as a young man fell on his ass on the wet tiles. Another man, his boyfriend presumably, cried out and bent down to help his beloved, laughing at the wet patch he now had on the back of his jeans. 

“Oh, my goodness, are you okay?” Renjun hurried over to the men. “Did you not see the wet floor sign?” 

The un-injured male grinned. “Sorry about this, Jeno is an idiot and left his glasses at home, he is pretty blind without them.” He ran a hair through his bubble-gum pink hair. 

“Don’t mind me, just dying over here Jae.” The brown-haired male on the floor wheezed, clutching his backside. 

“Oh sorry.” Renjun hurried to help the customer, lifting him up off the floor. The male, Jeno, frowned, squinting at him. 

“You’re not Jaemin.” 

Jaemin laughed. “No, I am here. This is…” he peered at Renjun’s name tag, “Ren…jun?” He struggled with the pronunciation, frowning cutely as he tried to wrap his head around the Chinese syllables. 

“Yeah, close enough. Do you want me to show you to a table, sir?” Renjun glances back at the pasta stain on the floor. It could wait. 

“Yes please, my butt hurts.” Jeno frowned, perfect brows crinkling. Renjun laughed lightly before guiding them to a table in the corner. 

“If there is anything else you may need, just let me or another waiter know. Good evening.” He inclined his head slightly before walking back to clean the pasta mess on the floor. 

Thirty minutes later, after putting the bucket and mop away and moving the wet floor signs so they were more visible, Renjun was called over by another waiter. 

“The couple at table 23 is asking for you.”

“Really.” Renjun frowned. “What for?” 

The waiter shrugged. “Didn’t say. Just go see what they want ‘kay?” He gave Renjun a pat on the shoulder before disappearing into the kitchen. 

“Hello, how may I help you?” A mess of pink hair and an eye smile greeted Renjun when he reached table 23. He ignored the way his pulse sped up ever so slightly at the sight of the handsome customers.

“We were wondering what the specials for tonight were?” Jeno grinned. “I can’t read the menu.

Renjun raised an eyebrow at Jaemin. “Surely you could help him out.” 

Jaemin just shrugged. “Maybe.” Renjun signed and leant closer, reading out the special dishes for the night to Jeno. After he was finished, Jeno nodded, looked at Jaemin and said:

“What would you recommend?” 

Renjun shrugged. “I don’t really eat here besides the garlic bread. The fettuccini alfredo is pretty popular though.” 

“Great, we will get two of those and two strawberry lemonades.” Jaemin grinned and Renjun’s stomach did a gross flippy thing. 

“Sure, coming right up.” He scribbled the order down in his notebook and scurried off before his blush showed. 

The rest of his shift was fairly uneventful. He brought Jeno and Jaemin their dishes, which they thanked him for profusely despite the fact that he wasn’t the one who cooked it. They left about an hour later, tipping Renjun generously. “I hope to see you around Renjun.” Jeno smiled sweetly, tongue catching on the difficult syllables of Renjun’s name. It was cute that they kept trying to get it right, but Renjun made a mental note to tell them his Korean name if he ever saw them again, for convenience purposes. Not that he would ever see them again.

“Still not quite right, but I am glad you enjoyed your meal. Goodnight sirs.” Renjun held the door open for them, watching as they held hands all the way to their car. 

It was cute, Renjun thought. Due to his lack of love life, Renjun found pleasure in observing adorable couples such as Jeno and Jaemin and swooning over how in-love they were. Others may call it sad, or creepy, or both, but hey, each to their own.   
Renjun didn’t see them complaining when they watched re-runs of The Notebook on TV, and that was basically the same thing.

 

|

 

“Dude I am pooped.” Jisung plopped down next to Renjun in the lifeguard booth. “I just had a three-hour lecture and then a dance class, and now I have to work.” 

Renjun hissed. “Yikes. Hopefully, nothing crazy happens today.” The sun blazed down, golden tendrils burning the skin on the bridge of his nose. The local pool was another gig of his. Every Friday, Saturday and sometimes Sundays, Renjun would tug on his swimmers and whistle and make his way down to the pool in order to spend four hours watching kids dunk one another.

At least the company wasn’t bad. Unlike his restaurant job, the other employees were around the same age as him, just regular teenagers struggling their way through university. Jisung, one of Renjun’s only friends also worked at the pool with him, and in between tugging small children out of the deep end, they would spend their shifts moaning about the trials and tribulations of being broke and tired.  
Renjun would argue that Jisung was too young to be whining about these things, but every time he would be reminded of the fact that Jisung had “graduated two years early with all honours and a full ride to uni.”  
His boyfriend Chenle, who also worked at the pool, was much humbler, often complaining in Chinese about how Jisung would flex his report card whenever he got the opportunity. 

“Hey, do you know those dudes or something?” Jisung shook his shoulder, pointing across the pool to where two males were standing, staring openly at Renjun. Noticing the bright pink hair, he groaned. 

“Sort of. It’s a long story.” Renjun ducked his head, praying that they were just going to move on and enjoy the rest of their day. Of all the places, he could have run into Jeno and Jaemin again, it had to be a dirty swimming pool while he was wearing ugly swimming shorts. 

“Well, I hope it wasn’t a bad story because they are heading over here,” Jisung whispered urgently.

Renjun swore under his breath and quickly ran a hand through his hair. It was still wet from where he had dived in to save a drowning kid earlier and he probably looked like a limpet but there really wasn’t much that could be done at the present time. He would just have to deal with the embarrassment of looking like a wet mop in front of the two best looking mortals he had ever seen. Maybe groan about it later to his Donghyuck back in the safety of their dorm room. 

“Hey! Renjun!” Jaemin grinned and waved. His shirt was sleeveless and Renjun didn’t fail to miss the way his lean arm flexed ever so slightly. 

“You finally got my name right.” He nodded in approval. 

“Oo Nana you weren’t kidding, he _is_ cute.” Jeno, now sporting a pair of black-rimmed glasses (and looking very dashing at that), gave him a long, appreciative look.

Renjun spluttered, blush turning his face a deep scarlet. Jaemin just laughed. “Jeno, I told you to keep quiet about that, you are making him uncomfortable.” He openly stared at Renjun for a solid ten seconds before Jisung cleared his throat.

“Hi, I’m Jisung, Renjun’s co-worker and best friend.” He shook hands with Jeno and Jaemin. “Is there anything we can help you with?”

Renjun prayed to the gods that they would just leave so he could drown himself in the kiddie pool. Thankfully Jeno shook his head. “Nope, we just wanted to say hi.”

“Ok well, hi. If you please excuse us, we are on duty and if a kid dies it’s on us.” Renjun turned back to the pool, emphasising the fact that he no longer wished to make a fool of himself in front of them. 

Jaemin, clearly not taking the hint, came a step closer. “What time do you get off?” 

“He finishes at two,” Jisung answered for him. Renjun pinched him in the thigh, earning an annoyed whine from the younger.

“Oh sweet! Are you free after, Renjun?” 

“No sorry.” “Yes!” Renjun and Jisung answered at the same time. 

“What?” Jeno raised an eyebrow. 

Renjun laughed awkwardly. “Sorry, ignore Jisung,” he gave his friend a pointed glare, “I have to leave straight away to go to a class at my university.” 

Jaemin’s shoulders visibly sagged and Renjun couldn’t help but feel guilty. “Oh well. We will see you around then? It was nice to run into you again.” Jeno nodded in agreement and waved dejectedly.

“See you around.” Renjun watched them walk off to the other side of the pool before exhaling deeply and leaning back in his chair. 

Jisung punched him in the shoulder. “Dude what the hell!”  
“What?” Renjun whined, clutching his shoulder.

“They just asked you out!” Jisung said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “And you said you were _busy_!”

“Yeah, I am.” Renjun shrugged.

“They were hitting on you! Do you know how many people would give their right arm to have two super-hot guys hitting on them like that!?” 

“What! They weren’t hitting on me.” Renjun looked away, trying and failing to conceal his red cheeks.

“Jun! They practically asked you out! Jeno called you _cute!_ How oblivious can you be?” Jisung cried.

Renjun just shrugged. Internally he was practically screeching, but he didn’t want Jisung to have a satisfaction of seeing him fangirl over Jeno and Jaemin. He was pretty certain he wouldn’t see them again, after turning their supposed ‘date’ invitation down, anyways.   
Ignoring the rest of Jisung’s rant, Renjun pulled his cap down lower over his eyes and tried to pretend like he totally wasn’t watching a certain two males splashing each other with water on the other side of the pool. 

 

|

 

“Renjun! Get out here!” Renjun’s co-worker Doyoung poked his head inside the breakroom where Renjun was sitting, scrolling through his phone.

“No, I have another twenty minutes left of my break!” It was a busy night at the restaurant but Renjun knew his basic worker’s rights and he wasn’t going to set even a toe on the floor until he had completed his well-earned break. 

“But there are some guys asking for you,” Doyoung whined. “They are making a scene because we told them you were unavailable.” 

Renjun groaned, a sinking feeling entering his stomach “Fine. I think I know who it might be, anyway.”

“Cool, can you try to get them to calm down or go away or something, it’s bad for business.”

Renjun nodded and strode out onto the restaurant floor. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw Jaemin throwing a mini tantrum to one of the waiters, and Jeno trying to calm him down.

“Renjun!” Jaemin’s face lit up when he saw the Chinese male approach. “I knew you were working tonight!” 

“Why are you stalking me?” Renjun asked, nodding to the other waiter to let them know he could handle the situation.

“We weren’t stalking you, we wanted to come here for dinner.” Jeno pouted. “The spaghetti is delicious.”

“Then why is Jaemin crying about not seeing me?” Renjun crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. He was internally freaking out just a little bit at how adorable the two males were, but this was a professional workplace and he couldn’t turn into a panicked gay just because someone wanted to say ‘hi’ to him.

“Ok, maybe we were stalking you a little bit. But you are so elusive and you don’t have social media. What did you expect?” Jaemin smiled. Renjun was baffled.

“Why do you want to spend time with me so badly?” Renjun guided them over to a booth in the corner and sat down on the end. 

“You interest us,” Jeno said simply. 

Jaemin nodded. “And you’re super cute.” 

Renjun blushed deeply but kept his face neutral. “What do you mean?” God, his heart was beating so fast.

“We want to spend time with you, get to know you and all the rest.” Jaemin leant forward and took Renjun’s hand

“It’s not the most conventional situation, but Jaemin and I both said that we couldn’t miss out on the opportunity to see you again.”

“Are you for real?” Renjun squeaked. They nodded. He felt like he was going to pass out. “I’m not dreaming?” They shook their head.

Jeno laughed. “God, you are so cute!” 

“Oh, shut up.” 

“Renjun, break’s over get back to work,” Doyoung called. Renjun yelped and scrambled out of his chair, adjusting his apron. Flashing a quick smile to the two males, he dashed into the kitchen.   
For the rest of the evening, every time he would pass by Jeno and Jaemin’s table, he would smile or say a quick word. They tipped him generously again, and Renjun slipped them his number with the receipt. 

 

|

 

“Jun! I never thought you would land a date with one guy, let alone two super-hot, nice, smart guys!” Donghyuck cried, flopping back on his bed. Renjun had scurried home as quickly as possible in order to recount the next episode in ‘the adventures of Renjun’s love life’ to his roommate.

“I can’t believe it either, quite honestly.” 

“That’s so romantic, fate bringing you three together!” Donghyuck clutched a fist to his chest, swooning. 

“They stalked me at work Hyuck, it’s not that romantic.”

“Ugh, Mark could never.” His roommate smiled. 

“Shhh now, you and your boyfriend do enough PDA to make Cupid feel sick.” Renjun giggled, dodging the pillow that Donghyuck had thrown.

“Shut up. Have they texted you yet?” 

Renjun glanced at his phone. “Nope. I am trying not to think too much about it.” 

Donghyuck rolled his eyes. “Yeah, good luck with that one.”

“Hey!” As if on cue, Renjun’s phone lit up with a text message with an unknown number. “Omg they are picking me up tomorrow at 12.” He squealed and jumped over to Donghyuck’s bed to show him the message.

“OO a love heart emoji! Renjun you are so lucky!” They laughed. 

“You wanna help me pick out my outfit and then watch Love Actually?” Renjun jumped up.

“Duh is that even a question?” Donghyuck cried and bounded over to the wardrobe.

Some would call it obnoxious, but they called it two hopelessly romantic teens. 

 

|

 

“Hey! There you are!” Jaemin smiled and embraced Renjun in a huge bear hug.

“Wow, you look amazing!” Jeno gave him an appreciative look. “Is that eyeliner?”

Renjun blushed self-consciously. “My roommate insisted.” 

“You look really pretty Renjun.” Jaemin took his hand. “Let’s go, we have a full day planned.”

Renjun nodded and allowed himself to be led away. 

The date was better than he had expected. Renjun thought it might be awkward going on a date with two people who were _already dating_ but Jeno and Jaemin somehow managed to make it seem like it was the most natural thing in the world.   
They were ridiculously interesting people, with Jaemin doing a course on primary school teaching at the local college and Jeno working full-time as a professional dancer and model. Renjun felt embarrassed when he recounted the events of his uneventful life, but the two males listened intently when he told them about how he was working through his law degree in university. 

“Do you want to go get something to eat?” Jeno asked. They had been wandering around a beautiful art gallery all morning, talking and taking pictures of the art. 

“Ooo yes! Can we go to that cute café in the Gardens?” Jaemin squealed. “Renjun you will love it, they have macaroons shaped like puppies!” 

“Jaemin! You promised me you were going to try and eat healthier now remember?” Jeno whined, grabbing both Jaemin and Renjun’s hand.

“Oh boo, just because you have to be all fit and healthy doesn’t mean I have to as well!” He turned to Renjun and whispered conspiratorially. “Jeno is a gym junkie. He doesn’t eat sweets.” 

Renjun gasped. “No really? How awful.” He smiled playfully. “I can’t imagine dating someone like that!” 

Jaemin pouted, eyes twinkling. “I know, it’s horrible, how about we ditch him and go eat cakes by ourselves?” 

“I am right here guys.” Jeno sighed. 

“Don’t worry Jeno, I am sure the café will find you some kale to eat or something.” Renjun giggled. 

Jaemin was right, the café was great, and the macaroons were adorable. He silently apologised to the Corgi shaped treat before biting into it.   
Jeno decided to “let loose” and ate some too, before complaining that his manager would kill him if he got a pimple. 

“It’s what you deserve for being so handsome,” Jaemin said, frowning at his own eye-catching visuals in the back of a spoon. 

“Well for the record I think the both of you are very handsome. Like princes.” Renjun blushed into his cup of tea, but it earned him two enormous smiles from the beautiful males.

 

|

 

“Can we see you again?” Jeno asked as they stood outside Renjun’s dorm house. They had insisted on walking him home even though their own apartment was on the opposite side of town. 

Renjun nodded. “I sure hope so. If I say no you will probably go back to stalking me.” 

“Desperate times call for desperate measures Injunnie,” Jaemin smirked. Renjun had finally told them his Korean name and Jaemin had taken it upon himself to come up with the most quote on quote ‘adorable’ nickname he could come up with. 

“We will text you then?” Jeno asked. 

“Yes, please do.” Renjun smiled shyly before standing on tiptoes to plant a gentle kiss on both males’ cheeks. “I will see you soon?”

“Of course.” 

Renjun dashed up to his dorm without looking back, cheeks burning. He didn’t stop running until he was in the safety of his bedroom, a screaming Donghyuck by his side. 

Sighing blissfully, he peered out of the tiny bedroom window to the ground floor where Jeno and Jaemin were walking hand in hand back in the direction of their own home. Someday that would be him too, laughing and talking comfortably with the two of them. 

It was unconventional, yes, but Renjun would say in years to come that their budding relationship was the best thing that ever came out of being a broke university student, even if he was still paying off the student debt.

**Author's Note:**

> ah so you made it to the end :)
> 
> talk to me in the comments or on twitter [@valenlimes](https://twitter.com/valenlimes) i love hearing what you have to say <3


End file.
